


By a hairbreadth

by NeonFrog



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-09-06 05:31:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16826137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonFrog/pseuds/NeonFrog
Summary: Alex and Maggie realizes that they're soulmate and we go from there.  I promise irregular updates from time to time. I'm keeping to the canon universe, but I'm probably going to take liberties.





	1. Chapter 1

_Thin, black strands snakes between her knuckles, over her hands and around her wrist and forearms, little wavy lines over her palm and fingers. Her soulmate marks, the first touch will change these marks' colors. The first time they appeared was so long ago, around her twelfth birthday, she remember her parents being stunned at how elaborate the mark were. Most people tend to have simpler marks, discreet ones._

_Eliza had a bright blue colored on her back, from when Jeremiah caught her falling down a flight of stairs. His own mark is on his chin, as that's what touched her first._

_Kara had a rather standard mark on her right hand._

Alex stares into the mirror, up before even the sun. Her mind conjuring the very moment she saw the marks, scrubbing at the marks as if they'd leave her skin if she scrubbed hard enough. It's not that she doesn't want to meet her soulmate, on the contrary, it's just that the mark itself has taken so much place in her life, she sometimes wish for a respite from the sight, nagging her at the edge of her vision. Like now, as she prepares her toothbrush, she wishes she could do so without wondering what every little bends and twirls of her marks might be.

Her phone buzz and startles her, the screen lights up with her sister's number. She answer with the toothbrush still between her teeth, intent on making Kara pay for calling so early. She mumbles a greetings to her sister, a smile already creeping at the thought.

"There was an alien kidnapping during the evening, I got the cops report on it from a contact. The cop think it's bigger, it might be linked to the other two we found." A pause "Are you brushing your teeth?"

Another mumbled response comes, but one with Alex trying to say something about bringing the report to Noonan.

"Okay, so I think you said something about Noonan, so lunch there then?"

Alex spit out the toothbrush, sending it into the sink and splashing the mirror with little spots of foam. "Nah, head there in about twenty, I'm starting early and this is actually important. Good job." She can hear Kara smile from the other end of the line at the praise, she ends the call with a matching smile.

***

Truth be told, her sister becoming a reporter worries her at times, as her sister can lack the subtlety often needed in that line of work. Kara took to the job much better than she anticipated at first, due to her social skills and ability to make friends easily, getting contacts and interviews seems a natural extension of it. With these thoughts on her mind, she finally arrives at Noonan's 

Kara is sitting at a table, menu on display before her, a woman is sitting opposite to her. She's wearing an oversized NCPD jacket, her hair in the messiest of ponytail she's ever seen. There's an exhausted look about her, like she shouldn't be up this early. She mumbles something, as Alex approach the table and she smiles her way, showing off a dimpled, tired smile.

"So, I'm guessing this is your contact and that you've also dragged her out of bed at an ungodly hour ?" Alex offers an apologetic smile when Maggie seems to confirm the statement with a nod.

"She's the one who insisted on giving the report to you directly." Kara protests. "And it's not a good idea to wait when there's people getting kidnapped."

"Tell you what, go get me some coffee and we'll start working on this" She pat her sister on the back, sending her away to the counter, she elect to sit on the other woman's side, when she notices the pile of coats occupying the bench.

"You're the FBI sister ? I'm Maggie Sawyer, Detective with the Science Division." both of her hand clings to her cup of coffee.

"Yes, that would be me, I'm Alex. Sorry about Kara waking you up." She looks toward her sister, who's ordering her coffee now.

"Oh she didn't really wake me up, she stopped me from going to bed. I pulled a double shift for this thing, she seems to think you already have a lead on it so, I might as well share." She shrugs. "I don't typically like working with feds and reporters, but, I'd prefer to keep the alien community safe."

Maggie pulls her phone out of her pocket, checking the time and she winces at the sight that get reflected. "Oh fuck, I look like I have a bird's nest in my hair." She set the phone on the table, pulling her hairband off and she drops it on the floor. She lets out a long suffering sigh, dropping her head on top of the table with a loud clang. "Damn it."

Alex takes pity on the exhausted woman, she reaches down for the band and notes it's pink color. "Ew, pink." she teases and gets a laugh in return. "Let me get that for you, least I can do since you're helping my sister out."

"Thanks, I'm just about to sleep in my coffee anyway." She yawns through the words and gives a lazy smile upon the feeling of Alex's fingers carding through her hair to disentangle them.

Alex stops after a few moment, the marks on her hands are colored in various red, purple and pink hues and strands of Maggie's hair matches them now. Her heart beats fast and hard. "Oh my god."

Maggie turns around and blinks at the newly colored hands, she grabs a handful of her own hair and seems shocked at the strands of colors she finds there. "Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" Tears spills from her eyes, but she looks angry. "I thought I didn't have any soulmarks!!" an exclamation full of raw emotions.

"And there's pink in it too." Alex comments shyly, running her thumb over the swirl of pink between her thumb and index. "And here I thought I was going to make Kara pay for breakfast." She can hear her sister's rather emotional laughter near the counter. "I'm so glad to finally meet you."

"I'm going to need a bit of time." Maggie then becomes quiet, her eyes closes as she reclaim her hairband and start putting up a new ponytail.

"Of course."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate of not, they're both disaster lesbians.

The water dribbles down her chin, onto her shirt and on top of the bathroom's countertop. It's the third time she's splashed her face with water and it's not helping. Her ears are still ringing from her boss' screaming. She's lucky there's credible witnesses and evidence of her soulmark, or else she might have faced a suspension for a dress code violation. Now, instead, she finds herself on a week's paid leave, a typical benefit from government work for when someone finds their soulmate. It's pretty standard in any line of work, truth be told, except retail of course.

Maggie dries her face with her fluffiest towel and finally drags herself out of her bathroom, the first light of dawn filtering through her curtains. A completely sleepless night, her second in a row. She flops down on her bed, staring at the ceiling again. Her fingers clasp around her phone for comfort, even as it causes her to feel fear. Several texts lines up when she looks at it. All of them from FBIsis. As if the screen name would make it weight less.

 _ **FBISis:** I got my week off. Did you take yours?_  
_**FBISis:** My mom knows, Kara told her. sorry._  
_**FBISis:** Do you want to catch breakfast with me ? Or dinner ?_  
_**FBISis:** Any idea what happens if you cut your hair?_  
_**FBISis:** Apparently it'd still be there somehow, according to google._  
_**FBISis:** Ok, I'm being told I am not giving you enough space by Kara. I'll wait for a reply._

"What the fuck is my life." she set the phone face-down on her chest, her vision blurs with tears. Her phone vibrate once again. She looks at the screen only to see that it's her alarm. "Ah fuck it" she start texting back

 _ **You:** Can you come over for breakfast? I haven't slept_  
_**You:** I can't drive, too tired._  
_**You:** Just bring a lot of coffee. _

She gets a simple thumbs-up Emoji as a reply. Maggie slides off her bed, she turns on the lights in the kitchen and starts preparing pancakes. It seems routine at first, Maggie manages to build a small stack of pancake before the pan slips from her grasp and ends up on the floor with a loud metallic clang; the batter splashes all over her bare legs, over the floor and the dishwasher. She roars in anger and kicks the pan out of the kitchen, slipping on a bit of the batter landing on her back. "Son of a BITCH!" her hands wraps around her foot as a string of curse escape past her lips.

Which is, of course, the exact moment that Alex finally arrives, knocking on the door urgently. "Are you okay?" the vaguely familiar voice ask through the door.

"No!" Maggie slam her fist against the floor, repeatedly.

Alex tries to open the door, but Maggie kept it locked. Alex takes a step back and kicks the door open, breaking the lock and sending small wood splinters flying into the lobby. She rushes in, letting the door just close loosely behind her. Alex steps on spilled pancake batter and slip down on her ass too. Maggie tries her best, but there is no stopping it. The sight of Alex sharing her morning's misfortunes overwhelms her and she folds forward, laughing. She laughs so hard that she can't manage to get a word out.

Alex tries to suppress a smile yet Maggie's laughter is so contagious, that she quickly loses control too. She leans back against the counter and holds her stomach as her own laughter starts to hurt her side.

After a few moment more, when Maggie finally catches her breath, Alex slides a little closer, spreading the batter a little more in the process. "Let me look over your foot, it's swollen."

"I have first aid too, Danvers."

"I have my medical practice license" she bats Maggie's hand away and run her thumb on top of the foot and apply pressure, force motion from left to right, testing for more serious damage.

The detective winces and hiss in pain. "Alright, I'll let you play doctor." 

Alex snort, even as she blushes.

* * *

"So I broke my foot cooking for my _solemate_." Maggie pull her tongue out at Alex, finishing her horribly misshapen pancake.

"No, you sprained your ankle while cooking for your soulmate." Alex set down the place.

"Oh come on, you need to let me have that pun!" She points at Alex with her fork

"Fine, I'll let you use it on my sister and my mom, once." She raise her index finger, enumerating the people.

"Fine, Hard-ass." Once the teasing dies down, Maggie presses on with a nervous energy "So, an FBI doctor?"

"Not quite! FBI is just the cover story. I'm actually with the DEO."

"And you're allowed to mention this to me because?" A tilt of her head to the side. 

"Soulmate are allowed to know basic information. I might not be able to reveal mission details, most of the time. But since you're in law enforcement you might get more than someone else would." Alex leaves her fork in the middle of her pancake.

"Okay, that's actually nice to know." she set her empty plate aside. "I'm sorry about the weird reaction."

"Oh please, don't be. This went way better than I thought it would." Alex stares at her elaborate soulmark.

"What do you mean ?"

"I mean, it looks silly now, but I always thought my soulmark was going to be my soulmate bleeding over my hands." she smiles sadly "That's why I became a doctor in the first place, I wanted to make sure I didn't have to watch them die. It's also why I got into the DEO, in part, since I thought there would be a better chance of meeting them in the field."

Maggie exhales and her eyes are damp. "Damnit Danvers, I'm supposed to be a hardass." she wipe at her eyes when tears threaten to spill.

"How was it for you?" Alex blinks a few tears away, her fingers tracing the soulmark's outline. 

Maggie shake her head. "I don't really have a family, when I didn't get my soulmark at fourteen I kind of started experimenting with girls. Blue Springs in Nebraska doesn't really have a pride parade, if you get my meaning." 

Alex set her plate aside too, though it's not empty, she leans toward Maggie and set a hand on her shoulder, squeezing comfortingly. "So you've been on your own since then." When Maggie nods, she slides a little closer and hugs her from the side. "Is that why you chose this job? So you wouldn't leave anyone behind if something happened?" 

"Get out of my head." Maggie buries her face into her chest, mumbling slightly.

"Sorry, I'm actually pretty good at reading people." Alex runs her fingers through the long, luxurious hair. 

"I almost got suspended because my boss thought I got highlights in my hair." She mumbles against Alex's chest.

"Well, Me and Kara got your back." Alex kiss the top of Maggie's head. "Oh, speaking of. My sister gave me permission to tell you something." The only answer she gets from Maggie is a soft snoring sound. Alex smiles fondly, Laying her down on the couch. She takes the covers and blanket from the bed and covers her with it. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex needs to find something to do while Maggie is asleep and she realizes that she'll need to fix the door, she calls on her sister (and Winn) to help her fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its short/rushed. wanted to get it out. holidays werent fun.

Watching her sleep is a little odd, it's quiet in the apartment and there's not much she can do while the gentle snoring sound fills the small residence. Alex sneaks around, examining the broken door. A wince twist her expression. 

> _You: Hey, think you could get Winn to fix a door for me?_
> 
> _Kara: Can you do something normally for once in your life?_
> 
> _You: I had to make an entrance! She hurt herself and the door was locked!_
> 
> _Kara: Sure, I'll ask him._

Alex peeks into the nearest closet and finds a broom and a dustpan, using them to gather the wood splinters and the screw that got knocked loose when she broke the door. Such a short task certainly did not get her through Maggie's slumber. "Hmm, I could wash the dishes?" she mumbles for herself, displeased by the very idea.

She's done with the pans and starting to dry the plates when she feels both of her soulmate's arms wrap around her waist. Her nose pressing against her back. "Shit, did I wake you up?" She can feel the negative response as Maggie shakes her head behind her. Alex caress the arms resting on her tummy.

"Wanted a hug." The detective mumble vaguely.

"There are worse things to be than a hug dispenser." Alex turns around and return the hug, "I asked my sister to find someone to fix your door."

Alex can feel Maggie turn her attention toward the busted door, she can feel the heavy sigh warming up a spot on her back. "Just tell me how much."

"Sure, It'll cost you a grand total of nothing. Maybe I'll have to order food."

"Oh, soulmates get discount on house repairs?" Maggie grins.

"Depends on how lucky you get." Alex keeps drying the dishes.

"Wait, is your sister coming over to fix the door, like, right now?"

"She's probably on the way with our friend that's going to fix the door. She's more likely to make it worse than fix it, really." Alex turns around inside of Maggie's hug, letting the woman's head rest against her chest.

"Ugh, that means I need to put on actual pants."

~~~

As it turns out, there was no time for a change of pants. Winn and Kara appear almost as soon as the complaint said pants was made. Kara is a touch handier than what her sister gives her credit for. (Maybe it's because this is not the first time Alex has kicked a door down and had them fix it).

"So! Can I ask why the door was kicked down?" Winn asks when finish screwing the new lock into place. "Or is that somehow more classified than my clearances allow me to see."

"I slipped and fell making pancakes, she heard me scream in rage. She panicked." Maggie explains, hiding her choice of pants behind the counter.

"Hey, I wasn't going to let my soulmate in distress on account of a flimsy door." As she says that, Alex sets her hand on the counter, with the intent of revealing it to Winn.

It has the desired effect, Winn gasp at the sight of the colored marks of Alex's hands. "Oh my god!" He looks between the two of them and notice the matching colors in the detective's hair. He runs around the counter, giving Alex an almost tackle hug. 

She traps him in a headlock after a while and makes an attempt to noogie him, but she release him when she notice the disapproving look from Maggie. "He's like my little brother. I can't let him know I can get mushy."

Kara laughs "I think maybe he already knows."

"He does" Winn confirms and ducks behind the girl of steel when Alex tries to smack him with the dish towel.

"You know she's the one person I can't stop from getting to you, right?"

"I know, but you can slow her down enough that I can make an escape."

Maggie yawns and leans against Alex's side. "Just out of curiosity, what was it you gave your sister permission to tell me? I fell asleep before she could tell me."

Alex kisses the top of Maggie's head.

Kara smiles and removes her glasses. "I always promised her I'd let her soulmate know about this." She undoes her ponytail and flies off the ground, levitating an inch from the ground. Only then does she open her shirt to reveal the suit.

"Dramatic." Maggie deadpan, even as she grips on Alex's shirt a little tighter.

"Well, from past experience, just saying I'm Supergirl doesn't work." A sideglance to Winn makes Alex laugh.

Winn sticks his tongue out at Kara, when she lands back on Maggie's floor.

Alex kisses Maggie's head again, rubbing her back in circle to soothe her. "She's still the same person, trust me, Kara isn't an act."

Maggie remains quiet, though tear threaten to spill quickly.

"Overwhelming?" Alex asks

Maggie just nods, unable to speak.

"It's okay, we'll leave you guys be. If you want to have dinner with me tonight, I'm free. Just let me know." Kara takes a moment to rebutton her shirt before her and Winn are out of the door.

~~~

Maggie sits down on the edge of her bed and stare at her own feet, her fingers fiddling idly with her shirt. Alex sits beside her an her immediate reflex is to lean against her. "Can it be just us two for the week?"

"Yes." Alex holds her close, continuously kissing her head and cheek, using whatever freedom her other arm has to shut her phone off completely.

"I don't think I'm ready to fill my life with that much family."

"Do you want to try and sleep again?"

"Yes, but only if you stay close." Maggie smiles shyly. "I get real cuddly when I'm tired."

"That's amazing." Alex lets herself fall into the bed, dragging Maggie along. 


End file.
